Crushpad Takes Its Next Big Step: To Napa Valley

Deal with Premier Pacific Vineyards Moves it to Silverado Trail

San Francisco, CA (Vocus) February 10, 2010

Crushpad announced today that it is moving its operations to Napa Valley after signing an agreement with Premier Pacific Vineyards (PPV) to move into the Silverado Trail Wine Studio (STWS) in Napa Valley’s Oak Knoll district. The move will enable Crushpad to offer its customers a much deeper winemaking experience and to continue its rapid growth as the place for wine enthusiasts around the world to make their own boutique wines.

“While we’re a little sad to leave our San Francisco home after six fun and successful years,” said Crushpad CEO Michael Brill, “the opportunity to practice the magic of winemaking on the biggest stage, in a winery on the Silverado Trail, was too much to pass up. We’re enthusiastic about what this will mean to both current and future clients.”

“We’re excited to deepen our relationship with Crushpad. We’ve long recognized them as a very dynamic wine company. Bringing Crushpad to the Silverado Trail Wine Studio confirms this unique property’s position as a premier winemaking facility and tasting room destination in Napa Valley,” said William Hill, Principal Managing Director of PPV.

The inspiration for the move came from the extremely successful launch of Crushpad’s Bordeaux operation in 2009 where Crushpad operated in a winery in the middle of St. Emilion. Clients from all over the world were able to augment their in-winery work with many vineyard experiences that created a deeper connection to their wine. The new Napa setting will provide a similar backdrop for Crushpad’s nearly 5,000 clients who have been involved in making California wine.

Silverado Trail Wine Studio is located at 3105 Silverado Trail in the Oak Knoll district of Napa Valley. Surrounded by vineyards, it includes a state-of-the-art winemaking facility and a tasting room that will feature small lot producers making wine at the studio. As part of the agreement, wines selected from over 100 Crushpad Commerce members will be poured and sold in the tasting room alongside wines from other STWS clients – a longtime dream for many Crushpad winemakers.

Crushpad and PPV have partnered since 2007, with PPV providing grapes from vineyards in Napa Valley, Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, Anderson Valley and Oregon. Combining PPV’s precision viticulture with Crushpad’s winemaking has yielded numerous acclaimed wines, many scoring in the mid-90’s by publications such as Wine Spectator.

The move is expected to be complete by March. As part of the move, Crushpad will be launching the Crushpad Passport - partnerships with Napa wineries, restaurants, hotels and golf courses in an effort to provide its passionate customer base special access to the best of Napa Valley.

Please visit http://www.crushpadwine.com/napafaq for an FAQ on the move.

About Crushpad
Crushpad is a custom winemaking service with locations in Napa Valley and Bordeaux, with over 5,000 clients including wine enthusiasts, professional winemakers, fine-wine retailers and restaurants. Crushpad specializes in small-lot, luxury wine production from world-class vineyards in California and Bordeaux. The company was founded in 2004 by wine industry veterans and technology industry refugees determined to liberate winemaking from its traditional stereotypes of impossible wealth, expansive chateaux and golden retrievers.

For more information on Crushpad visit http://www.crushpadwine.com

About Premier Pacific Vineyards
Premier Pacific Vineyards (PPV) operates the largest portfolio of world-class vineyard properties in the United States. PPV is a fully integrated vineyard company that combines real estate investment management, vineyard development and precision viticulture and farming. PPV supplies winegrapes to over 80 luxury wine producers and currently manages 37 vineyard properties in the top winegrowing regions in California, Oregon and Washington. PPV is committed to sustainable and environmentally responsible vineyard development and farming practices. PPV was founded in 1998 by William Hill and Richard Wollack.

For more information on PPV, visit http://www.ppvco.com.

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